Nadakhan stretched his limbs, exhaling. "There we are. So, my prince, what do you have planned for us?" He floated towards Jay, smirking. "Or should I ask the Samurai?"

Nya tightened her grip on her sword. "Why are you calling me that? I'm just a blacksmith!"

"Hm." Nadakhan turned his attention to Nya. "You two claim to be in love, and yet you know nothing about each other."

"What could you possibly be talking about?" Nya frowned. "Jay knows everything about me."

"True. Perhaps it isn't fair of me to expect you to know something, simply it is because of who you are." The sorcerer narrowed his eyes at Jay. "Your prince, on the other hand..."

Jay immediately caught on. "Nadakhan, you barely told me today, and not even an hour ago!"

"Told you what?" Nya asked Jay, taking his hand. Nadakhan watched them with a smirk, allowing them to have a moment to the side. "You can tell me anything. Please."

"Nya, I..." Jay swallowed, stroking her hand. "I'm just like Nadakhan. I'm a sorcerer."

"What?" Nya shook her head, blinking. "That doesn't make any sense, I mean... you don't have any powers!"

"How do you think I escaped the rose?" Jay mumbled, closing his eyes. "I only found out recently, but apparently my mother had magic and my father... killed her."

"... What?" Nya was holding onto his hand tightly now. "Your father?"

Jay nodded. "He was the reason why I took the form of a snake. I mean, it was mostly my fault because I wished to be like him, and Nadakhan has some strange way of twisting your words and making something metaphorical out of them..."

Nadakhan cackled, crossing all four of his arms. "It was a clever trick, I must say. The best one I've done in centuries." He crossed over to Nya once more, eyeing her. "Now for you. Do you really think your precious sorcerer prince broke out of my prison alone?"

"I mean, I know I had something to do with it..." Nya glanced at Jay and back to Nadakhan. "I... figured it was because of our connection and, you know... true love?" She concluded lamely.

Nadakhan stepped back and laughed loudly. "You idiot! You've never seen your own blood!"

"My... blood?" Nya was more confused than insulted. "Of course I've seen my blood; I've cut myself dozens of times at work."

"No, fool." Nadakhan stopped laughing and pointed at her brother. "Your own bloodline. You've never known that your family comes from a long line of ancient warriors? That your own mother had the magical mark of the samurai within her?"

"Seems like everyone and their mothers are some form of a secret magical being." Jay muttered.

Nya shook her head quickly, glancing down at her thumb, pierced from the rose's thorns. "I... I didn't know any of that. My parents died when I was little, but I still remember everything about them; th-they never mentioned anything about warriors."

"For good reason, I suppose." Nadakhan growled, glaring at Jay. "The House of Gordon claimed the lives of millions, all creatures with magic. It only makes sense that your mother would hide like a coward."

Nya pursed her lips in anger. "Don't you dare insult my mother."

Jay stepped towards the sorcerer. "Nadakhan, you have to believe me. I would never repeat the mistakes the king made."

"You call them mistakes." Nadakhan snarled. "I call them sins. Atrocities. He murdered my family and those I cared for, and yet you still stand as his heir. You deserve to die, just as his legacy should!"

Nya stepped in front of the prince, raising her sword. "Over my dead body."

Nadakhan narrowed his eyes. "The Samurai decides to fight."

"I am no Samurai." Nya started, now holding the handle with both of her hands. "I only want to keep Jay safe. You've hurt him for too long." She raised a hand and pointed at the open balcony. "Leave this place, now."

"You think you can persuade me that easily?" Nadakhan cackled, inching towards her. "Go on, then. Fight me, an all powerful sorcerer, without any of your samurai abilities. See how long you last."

Right as he raised his arms to strike, a white flash of light and a loud sound shook the walls of Jay's chambers. Nadakhan quickly crumpled to a ball, wincing in pain as blue streaks of electricity popped and sparked around his body. He was rendered unconscious, for the time being.

Nya whipped around and watched as Jay lowered his hand, his eyes fading from a brilliant white to their normal sapphire. He coughed for a moment from the effort, his knees shaking weakly. Nya dropped her weapon and caught him, helping him up.

"Don't do that again." She ordered, brushing his curls back. "You don't know the extent of your powers. You could seriously hurt yourself!"

"Nya..." Jay mumbled, holding her shoulders. "I just wanted to protect you."

Nya opened her mouth to protest, only to close it, taking a moment to silence herself. "It's okay." She whispered, moving into his chest slightly.

"I know." He held her tightly, keeping an eye on Nadakhan. "I know we can defeat him, together."

"I'm scared." She admitted, clutching onto the fabric of his suit; it had grown looser on him since his transformation, and now his chest was nearly exposed. If they weren't in the middle of a battle, Nya would have tried to reach inside and feel the smoothness of his skin.

"Do you have a plan?" Jay asked her, reaching down to pick up their swords.

"No." Nya placed a hand on his. "No weapons. We're going to talk to him."

Jay stepped back, stunned. "Wh- talk?"

"It doesn't sound entirely insane..." Nya began. "Besides, we've already been doing doing nothing but talking. You were the first one to strike, not him."

"Yeah, I know." Jay rubbed at his temples. "I just can't believe you want to. You've always seemed like more of a fighter to me."

"But I also know how to find the good in everything... apparently." Nya smirked at Jay. "I'm sure if I could turn you into a prince, I could at least persuade this sorcerer to leave us alone."

Jay smirked back. "Ah. Fair enough. I'll let you try it, but don't forget you have powers, my own powers, and a couple of good swords as back-up."

Right on cue, Nadakhan stirred and regained consciousness, struggling to get up. Nya walked towards him, holding her hands up. "No weapons. No powers. I want to talk." She crouched down, meeting his eye-level. "Does that sound fair?"

"Most unwise." Nadakhan muttered. "You do realize your powers are only present in the form of a weapon? Therefore you have nothing to protect you now."

Nya shrugged. "Sure, but I do have Jay, and he could always toss me a sword or use his own powers to protect me."

Nadakhan rose a brow. "Do you want to be diplomatic or not?"

"Do you?"

The sorcerer narrowed his eyes. "Fine. Lecture me on whatever it is you wish to tell me, and I'll obey."

"No." Nya sat down, cross-legged, a mere few inches away from Nadakhan. "I'm here to listen."

"Listen?"

"Yes." Nya reached out a hand, swallowing. "Believe me, Nadakhan, everyone in this room has lost someone very dear to them. I mean, I lost my own family at a young age. My parents."

"Yeah, and my entire life was practically a lie." Jay muttered, leaning against the wall. Nya hushed him, turning back to Nadakhan.

"That's why I want you to tell me. Tell me everything you were forced to hide. Everything you wish you could have told the king." Nya moved her hand closer. "But please, don't hide anymore. You're safe now, and safe with us."

The sorcerer glanced between Nya and Jay before shaking her hand quickly. "Fine. I'll play your little game, but once my strength is back, I'll strike."

Nya held up her hands again, prompting Jay to do the same. "Speak. We're listening."

Nadakhan lowered his eyes. "I'll save you my sob-story. To put it simply, I lost everything that was dear to me, and I wasn't allowed to grieve. I only wished that the king could understand the anguish I felt. I wanted him to feel the pain of those he affected. Those he killed."

The sorcerer scrunched his brows together, the faintest shimmer of tears lining his eyes.

"I wanted him to die a painful, agonizing death. My kind cannot wish for themselves, however, so I was only left with my hatred for the king and the clothes upon my back." He blinked for a moment, staring at his hands. "The night I planned to kill him, someone had already beaten me to it. Illness. I envied the sickness he fell to, and I wished it wouldn't have killed him so quickly."

When the sorcerer fell silent, Nya spoke to him. "Is that why you targeted Jay?"

"I suppose. I knew the boy's mother, such a kind woman, caring but awfully stupid. I wouldn't have been so harsh on the prince if she hadn't been so ignorant and gotten herself killed."

"She fell in love with the king, didn't she?" Nya asked quietly, although she already knew the answer and the ending to the grim tale.

Nadakhan nodded. "Earned his affections and soon became his mistress." He clenched a fist, shaking. "He impregnated her and locked her up as a punishment, like she was an animal. Then, as soon as he found out she was a sorceress, the king ordered to have her killed, for fear of contracting a curse. She gave birth to the prince, just before her sentence."

Tears spilled down Nya's cheeks, and she could hear Jay quietly sobbing behind her. "I'm so sorry."

"The woman was kind." Nadakhan shrugged, wiping tears of his own away. "She never wished any harm upon the king, even during her final days. Many of us would have cursed him with our last breath, but she died smiling at her love upon the pyre. A woman mad with love indeed."

"I..." Nya shook her head. "For years I was angry at the lack of control over poverty in my town. I never knew about the treatment of those with magic. I'm so sorry."

Nadakhan glanced up at her for a moment before closing his eyes. "It doesn't matter now. The prince has returned and the kingdom is at peace once again, thanks to you. I will never get my revenge, and I never expected to."

"By the way." The sorcerer stopped and faced Jay. "It's your parents that are behind me. The inventors."

"... What?" Jay spoke in a voice barely above a whisper. He rushed past Nadakhan, gasping. "Oh my god, it's really them! Mom, Dad!"

Nya stood up, trying to glance behind the sorcerer. "You had them this whole time?"

"I had to keep them out of the Snake's path." Nadakhan frowned. "They would have jeopardized my whole plan, and they probably would have found you sooner. They were also inventors for the king, so I had to wipe their memories. Just protocol for my curse to work."

"You are cruel." Nya closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. "I'm glad I listened to your side of the story, but... you're still cruel."

Nadakhan turned around and watched Jay try to wake his parents up from the frozen trance Nadakhan had put them in.

"I know."

He turned back towards Nya, lifting his arms and exposing his chest. "End it all now, Samurai. I am tired of living in this terrible world."

Nya found a sword in her hand, unsure of how it appeared there.

The Samurai raised her weapon, an aura of teal energy swirling around her arm, filling her veins with its power.

She was prepared to strike down the man that tormented her beloved prince, once and for all.